Paramount Animation has brought veteran Ramsey Naito on board as the executive vice president. She will report to president Mireille Soria (Paramount Animation) with whom she’ll work to build cross-divisional opportunities with Nickelodeon and parent company Viacom’s other brands.
The studio has also signed Emily Nordwind as VP of production and development, Katherine MacDonald as VP of production and marketing and Maya Kambe as the creative executive.
Naito will oversee production of the SpongeBob SquarePants (third instalment) movie, as well as new projects for development and animation talent to work with the division. Another Paramount animated title in line is Wonder Park (earlier called Amusement Park), set to premiere on 15 March 2019.
Paramount Animation has been on a rise since Soria took over last year, making a number of hires and overseeing the production of upcoming movies.
“I have had the privilege of knowing and working with Ramsey for a number of years. She is a consummate professional with incredible creative instincts and relationships. I am so excited for her to bring her skills and energy to our growing team, mentioned Soria who had previously worked with Naito.
Naito, who received an Oscar nomination for DreamWorks Animation’s The Boss Baby along with Tom McGrath, also served as head of movies at Cartoon Network, producer for Blue Sky Studios and VP of development and production at Nickelodeon Movies.
Her executive and producing credits include Barnyard (2006), The SpongeBob Square Pants Movie (2004), The Wild Thornberrys Movie (2002), Hey Arnold! The Movie (2002), Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001), Rugrats in Paris: The Movie (2000), and South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut (1999).